PainSkatingly Obvious
by PC the Unicorn
Summary: Takes place after the events of Starcrushed. With Marco chasing after Star, Jackie tries to figure out how to feel with the help of a friend. Hints of Jarco and Starco.


**Geez, the season two finale absolutely killed me! I am so glad that season 3 will be coming back this summer because I could not have waited over a year to see what happens next with Star, Marco, Toffee, Ludo, Jackie, and Moon! With that in mind, I've been seeing a lot of stories about the aftermath of the finale from Marco and Star point of view but not Jackie. While Starco is my OTP of the show, I have grown to really enjoy both Jackie as a character and her relationship with Marco. Plus, I hate how in some stories, the writers will portray Jackie as a total jerk even though that is totally out of character for her! So I decided to whip this story up. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a review telling me what you think of it XD.**

As Jackie watched Marco run up the stairs after Star, Jackie couldn't believe what just happened. One minute she and Marco were just having a fun time at the party, the next minute Star was shouting Marco's name, rambling about how she may never be coming back to Earth, and telling him that she have a crush on him before she started to cry and ran upstairs. Even though she normally went with the flow of things, the sudden turn of events had pushed Jackie off her "skateboard of calmness" so to speak, sending her into a whirlwind of mixed thoughts and emotions. How long has Star had a crush on Marco? How could she've never noticed any signs suggesting Star had a crush on Marco? Why did she help Marco get the nerve to talk to her if she had a crush on Marco? What was she supposed to feel? Was she supposed to feel ashamed that she was the reason why Star never tried to make a move on Marco? Angry at the fact that Star would just reveal such a huge thing before suddenly running off? Or sad the fact that Star, a person who she view as a very close friend, was suddenly leaving Earth, possibly forever, because of her? She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear anything that Janna said until she literally started shaking her, which snapped her out of her train of thought.

"Jackie, are you okay?" Janna asked worryingly as she looked at her best friend. "I called your name like a dozen times, but you just zoned out on me."

"I, I don't know," Jackie said uncertainly as glanced back at the stairs that Marco and Star had just run up. Suddenly, she felt Janna grab her hand, and lead her toward the kitchen from everyone. "Janna, where are we going?"

"To the backyard where we'll have some peace and quiet to talk," Janna replied, nodding her head at the attendees of the party who have already started talking loudly about what just happened. Once the duo was outside, Janna let go of Jackie hand and closed the sliding door behind them. "Okay, so I know you probably have some ques-" Janna started to say as she turned to talk to Jackie only for to be cut her off by Jackie before she could finish.

"I do have a question, Janna," Jackie said as he looked at her best friend eyes. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be her. After all, she have been spending more time with Marco and Star then she have, so she would definitely know the answer to the question she was about to ask. "And I need you to be one hundred percent honest. No "I don't know what you are talking about", or "I never noticed it", I need the truth. Did you know about Star crush on Marco?" She continued to look at her best friend eyes with her resolve crumbling quickly as she let out a dejected sigh and looked at the ground in shame.

"Yes." Janna said as she looked down in the ground in shame. Jackie groaned, as she looked toward the starry night sky while tugging her hair slightly in frustration.

"How come you never told me?" Jackie asked, much to Janna surprise. Jackie was usually so cooled and collected, so seeing her suddenly be all frustrated was a real surprise "Why wouldn't you tell me something so important? Why wouldn't Star tell me this? Why didn't I see any of the signs? Why we she go through so much trouble helping Marco get the nerve to talk to me if she had a crush on him!"

"Why are you freaking out so much Jackie?" Janna asked worriedly.

"I'm freaking out because my boyfriend best friend just admitted she had a crush on him and something about her leaving Earth forever!" Jackie shouted. "What if Marco blames me as the reason why his best friend decided to leave? Plus, there's also the fact that I may have seriously hurt and lost one of my closest friends!" She sat on down on the ground, exhausted as she covered her eyes with hands. She wasn't sure what was going to happen now. She had really grown to care about both Marco and Star. Despite all of Marco insecurities, he was an awesome sweet guy who she was happy to have as a boyfriend. Star was also the coolest girl she have ever met. She was enthusiastic, excitable, sweet, and was always willing to lend a hand. But with Star confessing her crush on him, she had no idea what was going to happen next with her relationship with Marco and friendship with Star. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Janna giving her a stern look.

"Okay Jackie, you got all of that stuff off your chest, so it's my turn to talk to you," Janna said in a stern voice. "First of all, none of us were certain if Star had a crush on Marco or not, not even Star herself for the longest time. I mean, everyone had their suspicions that she may have had a crush on Marco, but we nobody was really sure until tonight. That why Star decided to help Marco go out with you. She didn't even recognize her own feelings for Marco until it was too late! But even then, she didn't want to say anything to you because she didn't want to mess things up for you and Marco because she cares about both of you while also thinking Marco may not feel the same way. Secondly, no offense Jackie, but you aren't the most observant person in the world." Jackie looked at her friend in disbelief as what she just said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Jackie asked in an accusing tone.

Janna rolled her eyes. "Look Jackie, I'm not calling you dumb, but you have to admit your observation skills are pretty low," Janna explained. "Marco has had a crush on you for most of our lives and you never really noticed it, even though all the signs were super obvious. He would get flustered whenever you were near him, make a fool of himself if you said anything, and don't even get me started on how he would give you a nod every single day for all the way up to high school. It took us being almost killed by a crazy truth box from another dimension for you to learn that he had a crush on you, and that was only because he had to admit it!" Jackie stared at Janna as she processed what her friend had just said. When she said it like that, it did sound pretty obvious that Marco had been pining for her for years now. If she couldn't detected something that obvious, then how was she supposed to notice if Star had a thing for Marco? Plus given the fact that Star went out of her way to get tickets for love sentence for her, herself, and Marco, something she learned from Marco, Star really did wanted to make sure she and Marco had a fun time at the concert, even if it was tearing her up inside. Still though, there was still one thing that bothered her.

"But again, what if Marco blames me for Star leaving?" Jackie asked uncertainly which caused Janna to let out a long groan.

"Look, what I am about to say stay between us." Janna said as she double cheeked that no one was around despite the fact that the backyard was already empty. "Don't tell anyone about this, _especially_ Marco, okay?" Jackie nodded her head in slowly which caused Janna to let out a sigh. "Look Marco may be a lot of things. He's a dork, tends get to worked up about stuff, he's insecure, a square, a tool, a dweeb, a nerd, a-"

"Janna, what point you are trying to make?" Jackie asked in an annoyed tone. Knowing Janna, she could go on for several answers about all the words she could use to describe Marco. Janna let out another sigh before taking a deep breath.

"What I'm trying to say is that, while Marco may be many, and I mean _many_ things, one of the few things he isn't is a jerk." Janna said. "Do you really think the guy that has had a crush on you for most of our lives is suddenly going to turn on you and blame you for his best friend leaving? If you really think that Jackie, then you are the world's biggest idiot." Jackie stared at Janna in surprised. She never would have pegged Janna as the kind of person to give a whole inspirational speech to cheer someone up. She then started to laugh which made Janna to raise her eyebrows in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Janna asked. Once Jackie stopped laughing, she was able to catch her breath and flashed Janna a smile.

"I just can't believe that you actually gave Marco a compliment." Jackie said, gasping for breath.

Janna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well Marco may be a dork," Janna said. "But he is a cool dork. Though I swear if you ever tell him I said that about him, you will really regret it. Suddenly Janna eyes widen as she felt Jackie giving her a hug. "Umm, what're you doing? You know I'm not that much of a hugger?"

"Yeah, but I'm giving you a hug anyway because you deserve it." Jackie said as she hugged her best friend a couple more seconds before letting go and getting up on her feet. "Thanks a lot Janna; I really needed to hear that. You know, you may be a troublemaker, but you are can be really sweet sometimes."

"Yeah, well don't spread the word." Janna said as she got on her feet. "I do have a reputation to maintain. So what are you going to do now?" Jackie turned around and looked at the house, only to be surprised when she saw that Star tower was no longer a part of the house.

"I'm going to talk to Marco."

…

Even though she gotten some looks from everyone when she came back in, she ignored all of their eyes as she quickly made herself upstairs and made herself to Star bedroom, with the door being already open. When she looked inside, instead of seeing the colorful large room of Star, all she saw was a small, mostly empty, wooden floorboard room with a giant hole in the wall that allowed her to see outside. She suddenly heard a crash from the room that was across the hall from her and quickly made her way to it. When she opened the door, she saw a frantic Marco digging through his drawers anxiously as he looked for something.

"Come on, where is it?" Marco muttered loud, tossing a t-shirt over his shoulder, completely unaware that Jackie was behind him. "I know I put those dimensional scissors somewhere!" Jackie wasn't sure how she should get Marco attention, before just deciding she just need to start off simple.

"Marco." Jackie said simply. Marco perked up at the voice as he stopped digging through his drawers for a quick moment.

"Star!" Marco said hopefully as he turned around only to see Jackie instead. Jackie noticed a quick look of disappointment before it quickly flashed to sadness. "I'm sorry Jackie; I didn't mean to get you mixed up with Star. I guess I was just hoping that Star would come back through the door any minute now." Jackie could tell that Marco was really upset about what was happening. He was obviously confused and upset about what have just happened with Star. And knowing Marco, he was probably thinking he made a fool of himself for mixing her and Star up.

"Marco, I think we should talk," Jackie said as she closed the door the behind her and sat down on his bed. Marco got up from where he was and made his way to the bed with a depressed look. "So I'm guessing that Star crush on you was the thing that was making you two be all awkward with each other, correct?" Marco let out a sighed as he looked at Jackie and nodded and told her about everything that happened. How Marco first learned about Star crush on him when Rubireot revealed it when he was performing Star's princess song and how since that day the two have been avoiding each other as much as possible.

"And I thought after we talked the first time, we finally got the issue resolved." Marco explained. "I mean, we both just wanted things to get back to normal, so when I asked her if she really did have a crush on me and she said no, I just decided to just believe her so that we could just go back to being best friends again and stop being so awkward with each other. Though as you know, things are even worse now than they were before." Jackie grabbed Marco hands as she tried to reassure him. Even though Jackie was upset about what just happened, it made perfect sense that Marco would be even more upset. Despite that fact however, she needed to ask Marco a very important question.

"Marco, I'm sorry about everything that happened." Jackie said. "But I need to know. Do you have feelings for Star?" Jackie saw how nervous Marco got as he eyes widened at what she have just asked.

"What?" Marco asked in confusion as he stared at Jackie. "No, Star is my best friend in the entire world. I mean yeah, she's a cool awesome girl, but I've never had feelings for her. At least, I don't think so?" Jackie let out a sighed as she squeeze Marco hand once more for support.

"Marco, do you remember what Star said when we all trapped inside of that truth box?" Jackie asked. Marco shook his head. "Star said that sometimes you don't know what you think. And your head and your heart disagree. You think you know how you feel about something, but then it changes. And do you know what Star asked me after she said all of that?" Marco nodded.

"She asked you who did you have a crush on."

"And what did I say?"

"You said that you didn't know anymore."

"That's right I didn't. So I need to ask you again Marco. Do you have feelings for Star?" While Marco was silent for was only a couple seconds, it felt like an eternity to Jackie until he finally said what she thought he would say.

"I don't know if I have feelings for Star or not." Marco said. While Jackie didn't show it, she felt like someone punched her in the gut. Her heart was already aching when Star admitted that she had a crush on Marco, but now hearing that her boyfriend say if he wasn't sure if he had feelings for his best friend made the pain worse. Still, she didn't want to try to make Marco feel sorry or guilty for what she asked, so she continued to put on a brave face. "Jackie I'm sorry abou-." He started to say before Jackie shushed him.

"Marco you have nothing to be sorry about." Jackie said reassuringly. "When I learned that you had a crush on me, I was totally confused at first. But it made me want to get to know you better and I am glad I did. You are the sweetest, kind, most courageous, and most loyal guy I have known. You've done more things than anyone else I have known whether if it's going on crazy adventures to other dimensions, or fighting a group of monsters. And how can I be mad at the fact that you may have feelings for Star. Just like it took you admitting your crush on me to make me interested in you, Star telling you that she has a crush on you is probably making you rethink everything. Beside, she's the coolest girl I have ever known, how could I not expect for you to possibly have some feelings for her?" Marco stared at Jackie in wonder for a couple of seconds before chuckling a little and giving her a smile.

"Jackie Lynn Thomas, you are one of the coolest girls I've ever known." Marco said with sincerity which caused Jackie to blush from the compliment. Seeing as how his best friend was a magical princess from another dimension, that was saying a lot.

"So, what does this mean for us exactly?" Marco asked in uncertainty. While Jackie wish she could have told him that they could work through this together, or that maybe they could just pretend it never happened, she knew those were totally unacceptable responses. So she had to tell Marco the only thing she could, and hoped for the best.

"You have to figure that out for yourself." Jackie said. "Just know that whatever decision you make, whoever you choose, I'll respect it no matter what. Even though Jackie meant every single word she have said, and wouldn't try to sway Marco in any way, an unconscious part of her still hoped that Marco would choose to continue going out with her. Marco let out a sigh, as he gave Jackie a weak smile and gave her a hug. As the two embraced each other, Jackie chooses to enjoy the moment just in case it would be the last time the two may hug as boyfriend and girlfriend. After a couple more seconds, they let go and both got on their feet. "So what are you going to do now Marco?"

"I'm going to Mewni to talk things over with Star, so she and I can figure out what's going on between us." Marco said with determination. "Now if I can just find those dang on scissors."

"You mean those scissors right there on your desk?" Jackie asked as she pointed at the brown scissors that was lying on his desk. Realizing that the thing he was looking for had been in plain sight, Marco did a facepalm which made Jackie chuckle. Marco grabbed the scissors as he open and closes them quickly before sliding them down through the air, cutting a swirling, shiny, blue portal into existence.

"I'm not sure how long I will be gone, but I'll be back making sure to come back." Marco said. "Tell my parents not to worry and that I'll be safe." However, before Marco could even take a step forward, Jackie grabbed his hand much to his surprise.

"Who said you was going to see Star alone." Jackie asked much to Marco surprise.

"Wait?" Marco asked in confusion. "You are coming with me?"

Jackie gave Marco a smile. "Of course I'm coming along dude." Jackie said. "Despite what happened, Star is still my friend and I need to talk to her to. Beside I've always wanted to see what Star's dimension was like." Marco gave Jackie a look of amazement before giving her a smile that made her heart flutter.

"I'll say it once, and I'll say it again," Marco said. "You are one cool girl." Jackie gave a casual shrug at Marco comment even though it did make her feel flattered even more.

"That's just how I roll Marco Diaz." Jackie said simply. "Now, let's go see our friend." With that last sentence said, Jackie grabbed Marco hand, with Marco then leading her through the portal. She didn't know what would happen once she, Marco, and Star all talked. Maybe Marco would stay with her. Maybe he would go would go with Star. No matter what happened, she would always care about Marco. And as long as he was happy, she would be happy, even if the decision he made may leave her heartbroken.

 **I have no idea how the Starco/Jarco love triangle will be resolved, but I have hope in the writers that it's kind of something like this more or less. After all, the writers have pulled off a love triangle amazingly in this show that doesn't fall any of the typical traps. The two girls don't hate each other and both of them are likeable and enjoyable. I really do like Jackie, and I will feel bad for her when Starco does happen because she really does seem to care about Marco. All I know is that season 3 can't get here enough! But what did you think of the story? Make sure to leave a comment, and check out my other stories. Until next time this is PC, logging off.**


End file.
